SPM subject limit - more harm than good
Jason LKHPublished: Jun 26, 2009 9:02 AM | Updated: Jun 26, 2009 9:03 AM
The recent move by the Education ministry to limit the SPM examination’s subjects to 10 is perhaps an unwise move. I believe this was intended to prevent the deterioration of the value of the ‘A’ rank in the international arena.
I say this because the idea was mooted after a series of issues pertaining to the unfair JPA scholarship allocation, especially those who scored more than 10As in their SPM
I think this move to limit the number of subjects a student can take for the SPM is not the solution to the problem and in fact, it’s off tangent.
We all know that the cutoff point for the ‘A’ grades are not up to mark, and hence we see many urban students scoring ‘As’ without much effort. And to add salt to the wound, we have tuition centers ‘spotting’ questions for the SPM examination.
Imagine if all potential 13A scorers are limited to 10 subjects, I wouldn’t want to imagine the issues JPA would face. They’d probably have 40% of 10A scorers without scholarship, and create another unfair scene, probably worse than prior the subject limit imposition.
Oh, and what about those with below 10As? What I foresee is a saturation of students on the 10As mark because all potential 10As and above are squeezed down to below 10As scoring.
Imagine if 13As today in the international arena are in the top 30% of students worldwide. Where would the 10As be? The top 50%?
Rather than limit the potential of students, I think the education minister should upgrade the value of the A grade by implementing measures to reflect accurately a high distinction grade.
This, of course, would mean the revamping of the whole grading scheme and criteria. We should train students to think, not to mug.
On that note, I would love to see exam papers grading our students’ ability to think critically and structure opinions and arguments coherently. And also to test students on their ability to apply their knowledge acquired for a unique situation. All these skills are to separate excellent students from the ‘muggers’ and ‘crammers’.
All these, of course, are ideal for urbanites. How about the rural students? I honestly do not have an answer but what is clear is that their infrastructure and resources are definitely insufficient.
Will the education ministry by more proactive in encouraging development to narrow the gap between urban schools and rural schools?
What are the ways to encourage graduates to teach in rural schools? What are the ways to bring in more educational resources to the rural schools? Until rural schools catch up with urban schools, we’ll always be struggling to bring the best of education to our students.
Therefore, I urge the education ministry to revamp the system and rural schools. We must never leave them behind.
I say this because the idea was mooted after a series of issues pertaining to the unfair JPA scholarship allocation, especially those who scored more than 10As in their SPM
I think this move to limit the number of subjects a student can take for the SPM is not the solution to the problem and in fact, it’s off tangent.
We all know that the cutoff point for the ‘A’ grades are not up to mark, and hence we see many urban students scoring ‘As’ without much effort. And to add salt to the wound, we have tuition centers ‘spotting’ questions for the SPM examination.
Imagine if all potential 13A scorers are limited to 10 subjects, I wouldn’t want to imagine the issues JPA would face. They’d probably have 40% of 10A scorers without scholarship, and create another unfair scene, probably worse than prior the subject limit imposition.
Oh, and what about those with below 10As? What I foresee is a saturation of students on the 10As mark because all potential 10As and above are squeezed down to below 10As scoring.
Imagine if 13As today in the international arena are in the top 30% of students worldwide. Where would the 10As be? The top 50%?
Rather than limit the potential of students, I think the education minister should upgrade the value of the A grade by implementing measures to reflect accurately a high distinction grade.
This, of course, would mean the revamping of the whole grading scheme and criteria. We should train students to think, not to mug.
On that note, I would love to see exam papers grading our students’ ability to think critically and structure opinions and arguments coherently. And also to test students on their ability to apply their knowledge acquired for a unique situation. All these skills are to separate excellent students from the ‘muggers’ and ‘crammers’.
All these, of course, are ideal for urbanites. How about the rural students? I honestly do not have an answer but what is clear is that their infrastructure and resources are definitely insufficient.
Will the education ministry by more proactive in encouraging development to narrow the gap between urban schools and rural schools?
What are the ways to encourage graduates to teach in rural schools? What are the ways to bring in more educational resources to the rural schools? Until rural schools catch up with urban schools, we’ll always be struggling to bring the best of education to our students.
Therefore, I urge the education ministry to revamp the system and rural schools. We must never leave them behind.
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